Ruhr Valley wins DWNRW Hub

Essen - One of six North Rhine-Westphalia Digital Economy (DWNRW) Hubs - centres of the digital economy - will be created in the Ruhr Valley. The competition for the regional centres for the digital economy selected Aachen, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Münster as the winners, with another DWNRW Hub to be created in the Ruhr Valley. The State of NRW is helping to fund the Hubs to the value of up to 12.5 million Euros in all.

In one of Germany’s largest VC financings of 2016, Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) has invested in SuperVista AG, a family-run eyewear company headquartered in Wildau, Germany.

TCV has invested in SuperVista by way of a combination of subscription of newly issued shares in SuperVista and a purchase of shares from existing shareholders. The investment was a complex transaction that involved many shareholders and subsidiaries of SuperVista across various jurisdictions.

Dassault Aviation announces the repurchase of 5.5% of its capital from the Airbus group.

The Airbus group finalized its divestiture from Dassault Aviation’s capital by undertaking, the 10th of June, a private placement with institutional investors and a convertible bond into Dassault Aviation shares program.

As part of its repurchase program, Dassault Aviation has acquired, simultaneously with its investment, 502 282 shares representing 5.5% of its own shares.

The startup company Glowee announces its first round of venture capital funding, amounting to approximately 650.000 euros, financed by the crowdfunding Wiseed website.
Glowee is a living system based on the production of biological light, functioning without any electricity thanks to bioluminescence.
Glowee, funded by Sandra Rey, is part of Start you up’s third season, a program which aims to provide support to startups, launched in 2013 by August & Debouzy.

The members of August & Debouzy assisting Glowee are:

Jones Day advised Aberdeen Infrastructure (HoldCo) B.V. in connection with the acquisition of a minority participation in the share capital of a concession company managing two railway lines.

For additional information about this matter, please contact: Fernando Lillo
Client(s): Aberdeen Infrastructure (HoldCo) B.V.
Practice(s): Projects & Infrastructure
Office(s): Madrid

Orrick advised 3i Infrastructure plc in its agreement to acquire a minority stake in French renewable energy group Valorem.

According to the agreement, 3i Infrastructure will acquire a 28.5% stake in Valorem and provide further capital to the company through a subordinated debt instrument, for a total amount (equity and subordinated debt) of approximately €69 million. The remaining equity will be retained by the existing management team and minority shareholders. Completion is expected to take place in September.

VISCHER advises CRISPR Therapeutics AG in an extension of the Series B financing with additional proceeds of 38 million. CRISPR Therapeutics AG with corporate seat in Basel is a bio-pharmaceutical company focused on translating CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology into trans-formative medicines. This second, oversubscribed closing of the Series B financing, includes several new institutional investors and specialized healthcare funds.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised CJSC Sberbank CIB as agent to the Russian Federation, and Sberbank CIB and VTB Capital as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, on the US$812 million privatization of the Russian Federation's 10.9 percent stake in the charter capital of PJSC ALROSA, the world's leading diamond mining company in terms of diamond production.

Delphi advised EQT Ventures on its investment in Watty.

Delphi’s team was led by managing partner David Aversten and senior associate Emma Dansbo.

For more information on the transaction, Watty and EQT Ventures, please see Watty's press release.

William Fry and King & Wood Malleson have advised the AA, the UK’s largest breakdown cover organisation, on the sale of its Irish business and operations, AA Ireland Limited, to US-Irish private equity fund Carlyle Cardinal Ireland.  AA Ireland and the AA will enter into a long term Ongoing Services Agreement, which will preserve the current trading arrangements between the AA and AA Ireland for the benefit of both groups.